Acoustic locator with array of microphones

ABSTRACT

Acoustic locator comprising an array of microphones located on the outer ends of radial arms extending from a central support. The inner ends of the arms are pivotally connected to a housing rotatably mounted on a table of the support which also comprises a plurality of legs. A sighting device is applied to the arms for orienting the microphones, once the support is set up. After orientation, longitudinally adjustable posts are swung downwardly from the arms into engagement with the ground for supporting the arms and microphones.

United States Patent 1 91 1 1 3,736,557 Brynk 1 1 May 29, 1973 [54]FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 0F MICROPHONES Inventor: George Brynk,Raton, N. Mex.

Assignee: A. R. F. Products, Incorporated,

Raton, N. Mex.

Filed: Nov. 26, 1969 Appl. No.: 880,026

s2 u.s. c1. ..340/16 R, 340/8 s [5 1] Int. Cl ..G0ls 3/00 [58] Field ofSearch ..340/6, l6, 16 M, 340/8 S; l8l/0.5

[56] I References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,397,746 4/1946 Lewis..340/l6 3,141,148 7/1964 Hueter ..340/8 s 2,823,974 2/1958 Daniels..340/l6 x 311,869 5/l929 Great Britain ..340/l6 PrimaryExaminer-Richard A. Farley Attorney-Burmeister, Palmatier and Hamby 7]ABSTRACT Acoustic locator comprising an array of microphones located onthe outer ends of radial arms extending from a central support. Theinner ends of the arms are pivotally connected to a housing rotatablymounted on a table of the support which also comprises a plurality oflegs. A sighting device is applied to the arms for orienting themicrophones, once the support is set up. After orientation,longitudinally adjustable posts are swung downwardly from the arms intoengagement with the ground for supporting the arms and microphones. 1

7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMAY29 I915 3 73s 55'! sum 1 OF 3Inventor George Btank Mem -58 PATENTEDMAYZQ I975 SHEET 2 OF 3 Inventor Gorge Bfgt'lk I $MM kfimwsg fritters-Legs PATENTEUMAYZS ms 3. 736' 557SHEET 3 BF 3 Inventor- George Br 511k 3 cfimfima M fl-lrtornec -sACOUSTIC LOCATOR WITH ARRAY F MICROPHONES I This invention relates to anacoustic locator with an array of microphones. More specifically, theinvention 7 relates to an acoustic [water on which the microphones canbe easily oriented in the field after the sup port for the locator isset up.

The difficulty encountered in locators of the aforementioned type isthat it is hard to set up such a locator in the field and at the sametime orient the microphones as desired. Customarily, locators of thistype field, that is to say makes it possible to place the sup-' portquickly on the ground and thereafter independently with a minimum lossof time orient the array of microphones for best use of the locator'.

In the drawings: 7 FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device entinvention ready for use in the field; FIG. 2' is a perspectiveview ofthe present device as it is being oriented FIG. 3 is a perspective view.of the device in upsidedown position; I 4 i v FIG. 4 is a perspectiveview of. the device 'incollapsed position, and with the supportlegsrremoved; and

of the pres- FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view, partly: in.

section of the present device. V 7 As shown in: FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, thedevice of the presentinvention comprises 'a support 10 composed of anupper central portion or table 11 and a plurality of legs 12, a housing13, a plurality of arms 14 distributed about the housing 13 andextending radially outwards therefrom, a'plurality of microphones 15carried on the outer. ends of the arms 14, and a plurality of posts 16supporting the arms 14 in horizontal position, The housing 13 isrotatablymounted in the table 11 by means of bearings 16a and 16b. Asignificant feature of the .present invention is that the housing 13,the arms 14, and the microphones 15 are rotatable as a unit with respectto the support 10.

The legs 12 of the support 10, which are shown as three in number, areinterconnected by three links 17, collars 18 secured to the legs 12, anda 3-prong central piece 19. The outer ends of the links 17 are pivotallyconnected to the collars l8, and the inner ends of the links to thecentral piece 19 The upper ends of the support legs 12 are pivotallyconnected to the underside of the table 1 l, and the lower ends of thelegs dig into the ground.

threaded into the housing 13 wi l the points 21 of the arms 14 and thusholds the arms horizontal.

A sighting device 23, which includes an adjusting unit 23a, is mountedon a carrier 24 supported on'the housing 13 and the arms 14. The carrier24 has four feet 25 so arranged with respect to one another as to fit inthe spaces between the arms 14 adjacent their pivots on they housing 13,whereby the sighting device 23 extends along two of the opposed arms 14.A leveling unit 250 is on housing 13, as shown in FIG. 4. i

The table 11 of the support lovcarriesat its periphery an annularazimuth dial 26, which is rotatably adjustable with respect to the table11 and is held against rotation by friction between the dial and thetable or by other suitable means. The table 1 l carries a split collar-27 which, with the help of" a clamping screw 28 in threaded engagementwith portions of the collar 27 on opposite sides of the split, holds thehousing 13 and the arms 14 against rotation with respect to thesupportl0. 1 The posts 16 are carried in split clamps 29, which are locatednear but spaced from the outer ends of the arms between spaced sideportions thereof. The clamps 29 are carried on the arms 14 by} bolts 30,each of which passes through the spaced sides of an arm "and throughan'associated clamp 29 at the split therein, has

" an enlarged head 31 engaging one side of the arm 14 at the exteriorthereof, andis threadedly engagedfby a nm at the exterior of theotherside of the When the. nut 31 is loosened, the post 16 maybe swung be.-tween the positions of FIGS. 1, and 2 an'd may be shifted longitudinallyfor axially. in the associated clamp .29.

Tightening of thenut 3 l-ti xes the 16 against angular movement with.respect to, mum I4 and axial movement with respect to the clamp 29.Thus, all: four an n's 14 may be kept horizontaland in same place, inspite of the fact that the terrain may be irregular and at differentdistances from the arms 14. As shown in FIG; 3, the post 16 may beheldin inoperable transport position inlwhich theyextend along the arms 14by en gagement of their lower pointed ends with ,openingsin transverseflanges 33 on the arms 14 located near but spaced fromtheirinner'endsvElectrical leads (not shown extend from the micro: phones 1 5 along legsthrough fittings 34 which, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, are attached toth'e'housing l3,

. to the interior of the housing to amplifiers therein' ("not shown).From the-amplifiers otherelectrical leads (not shown) extend 1 downthrough opening 35, which is formed in the base of the housing 13, asshown in FIGS.

3 and 5. Because thesetof leads and amplifiers are arranged andpositioned as described, the microphones l5 and housing 13 may have asmuch as 360 ofm'ovement with respect to table 10, withoutinterferenceby, or adverse effect upon, the leads and amplifiers.

In operation of the. Present device, the fourmicro phones 15, spaced 90from one another about a circle,

The microphones 15 are encased in wind screens 20 I formed of a suitablematerial such as an open cellular 9' firing of a gun in the generalneighborhood ofthe pres ent device. Because of the spacing between .themicronumber, are distributed about the housing 13 at right 7 angles toone another, and their inner ends are pivotally connected to the housing13 on horizontal axes transverse to the legs. The inner ends of the arms14 beyond their pivots on the housing 13 come to generallyrightsngIe'points 21 fitting together. The head of ascrew 22 transmitthrough electronic mechanism (not shown) contained in the housing 13',signals producedby the phones 15, the signalsproduced by the microphonesdifi'er from one another and so can indicate in a general way thelocation of the gun being fired. A second device similar to the oneillustrated in the present application combines therewith to locate the.firin ggun more exactly. I a

More particularly, the present device is carried out into the field inthe neighborhood of the gun being fired and is set up so that the threesupport legs .12'dig into the ground and hold up the device as shown inFIG. 2. The arms 14 are in horizontal position by .virtue of the factthat the head of the screw 22 engages the point 21 of the arms 14. Thesighting device 23 is brought into line with a known landmark, andoptionally the arms 14 aligned with the sighting device are displaced acertain angle from the aforesaid position of alignment, which angle maybe read off on the azimuth dial 26. Now the collar 27 is clamped by thescrew 28 against the housing 13 to fix it and the arms 14 againstrotation. Next, the sighting device 23 and its carrier 24 may beremoved, and the posts 16 are swung from the horizontal position of FIG.2 in which they extend along the arms 14 to the vertical position ofFIG. 1 in which they are perpendicular to the ground and engage it so asto support the arms.

The interconnection of the support legs 12 by the links 17 in the3-prong central piece 19 facilitates the setting up of the support inthe field. When the support 10 is being transported, the central piece19 is downward from its position of FIG. 2 so that the sup port legs 12are close to one another and the links 17 extend downward from thecollars 18 to the central piece 19. As support 10 is brought toward theground for positioning thereon, the central piece 19 is raised withrespect to the legs 12, moving them all out way from one another at onetime. As a result, the legs are properly spaced and provide stablesupport when their ends are made to engage the ground.

As previously mentioned, a significant feature of the present inventionis that the arms 14 and microphones are rotatable with respect to thesupport legs 12 by virtue of the rotatable mounting of the housing 13 inthe table 11. Thus, the support legs 12 may be brought into engagementwith the ground without regard to angular orientation of the arms 14.Thereupon, the arms 14 may be properly oriented with respect to a knownlandmark by the use of the sighting device 23. This can be done quicklyand easily because the support legs 12 have already been brought intoengagement with the ground.

Those skilled in the art will readily utilize the teachings of theforegoing invention in ways in addition to and beyond those heredescribed, and it is therefore intended that the scope of the presentinvention be limited not by the foregoing disclosure, but rather only bythe appended claims.

I claim:

1. An assembly comprising a support having an upper central portion anda plurality of legs distributed about the central portion and extendingdownwardly and radially outwardly therefrom, a housing rotatably mountedon the central portion of the support, a plurality of arms distributedabout the housing and extending radially outwardly therefrom, meansconnecting a region of each arm adjacent its inner end with the housingfor pivoting of the arm about a horizontal axis transverse to the lengthof the arm, a plurality of microphones equal in number to the arms andmounted on the outer ends thereof, one microphone to an arm, thehousing, arms, and microphones being capable of up to 360 of movementwith respect to the support without interference from electrical leadsextending from the microphones along the arms to amplifiers in thehousing and electrical leads extending from the amplifiers in thehousing downwardly through the bottom of the housing, a sighting device,and a carrier therefor having a plurality of feet engaging sides of thearms adjacent their inner ends for enabling the sighting deviceto-oricut the microphones.

2. An assembly comprising a support having an upper central portion anda plurality of legs distributed about the central portion and extendingdownwardly and radially outwardly therefrom, a housing rotatably mountedon the central portion of the support, a plurality of arms distributedabout the housing and extending radially outwardly therefrom, meansconnecting a region of each arm adjacent its inner end with the housingfor pivoting of the arm about a horizontal axis transverse to the lengthof the arm, and the inner ends of the arms narrowing to points so as tofit closely together in a horizontal position of the arms, the assemblyfurther comprising a screw having a shank extending into the housing inthreaded engagement therewith, the screw having a head overlapping theinner ends of the points of the arms so as to hold the arms in ahorizontal position, a plurality of microphones equal in number to thearms and mounted on the outer ends thereof, one microphone to an arm,the housing, arms, and microphones being capable of up to 360 ofmovement with respect to the support without interference fromelectrical leads extending from the microphones along the arms toamplifiers in the housing and electrical leads extending from theamplifiers downwardly through the bottom of the housing.

3. The assembly specified in claim 2 and further comprising a pluralityof posts, one to an arm, and a plurality of clamps, one to an arm,mounted adjacent the outer ends of the arms, each clamp holding a postand being releasably fixable with respect to the arm so as in oneposition to cause the post when inoperative to extend along the arm andwhen operative to extend transversely of the arm into engagement withthe ground, the post being longitudinally adjustable with respect to theclamp.

4. An assembly comprising a multilegged support, a plurality of armsdistributed about the support and extending radially outwardly of thesupport, means con necting the inner end of each arm with the supportfor pivoting of the arm about a horizontal axis transverse to the lengthof the arm, a plurality of microphones equal in number to the arms andmounted on the outer ends thereof, one microphone to an arm, and aplurality of clamps, one to an arm, mounted adjacent the outer ends ofthe arms, each clamp holding a post and being releasably fixable withrespect to the arm so as in one position to cause the post wheninoperative to extend along the arm and when operative to extendtransversely of the arm into engagement with the ground, the post beinglongitudinally adjustable with respect to the clamp.

5. The assembly specified in claim 4, each arm comprising spaced sideportions between which the associated clamp is positioned, each clamphaving a split, the assembly further comprising a plurality of bolts,one to an arm, each bolt having a head at the outside of one sideportion and extending through said one side portion, the associatedclamp at the split, and the other side portion, and a plurality of nuts,one to a bolt, each nut being threaded on the associated bolt at theoutside of the other side portion.

6. An assembly comprising a multilegged support, a plurality of armsdistributed about the support and extending radially outwardly of thesupport, means connecting the inner end of each arm with the support forpivoting of the arm about a horizontal axis transverse to the length ofthe arm, a plurality of micr a iahonesv equal in number to the arms andmounted on the outer ends thereof, one microphone to an arm, a sightingdevice, and a removable carrier therefor having a plurality of feet,each foot engaging the sides of two adjacent arms adjacent their innerends and fitting the space between said two adjacent arms for enablingthe sighting aligned with two oppositely extending arms.

* II it I! II

1. An assembly comprising a support having an upper central portion anda plurality of legs distributed about the central portion and extendingdownwardly and radially outwardly therefrom, a housing rotatably mountedon the central portion of the support, a plurality of arms distributedabout the housing and extending radially outwardly therefrom, meansconnecting a region of each arm adjacent its inner end with the housingfor pivoting of the arm about a horizontal axis transverse to the lengthof the arm, a plurality of microphones equal in number to the arms andmounted on the outer ends thereof, one microphone to an arm, thehousing, arms, and microphones being capable of up to 360* of movementwith respect to the support without interference from electrical leadsextending from the microphones along the arms to amplifiers in thehousing and electrical leads extending from the amplifiers in thehousing downwardly through the bottom of the housing, a sighting device,and a carrier therefor having a plurality of feet engaging sides of thearms adjacent their inner ends for enabling the sighting device toorient the microphones.
 2. An assembly comprising a support having anupper central portion and a plurality of legs distributed about thecentral portion and extending downwardly and radially outwardlytherefrom, a housing rotatably mounted on the central portion of thesupport, a plurality of arms distributed about the housing and extendingradially outwardly therefrom, means connecting a region of each armadjacent its inner end with the housing for pivoting of the arm about ahorizonTal axis transverse to the length of the arm, and the inner endsof the arms narrowing to points so as to fit closely together in ahorizontal position of the arms, the assembly further comprising a screwhaving a shank extending into the housing in threaded engagementtherewith, the screw having a head overlapping the inner ends of thepoints of the arms so as to hold the arms in a horizontal position, aplurality of microphones equal in number to the arms and mounted on theouter ends thereof, one microphone to an arm, the housing, arms, andmicrophones being capable of up to 360* of movement with respect to thesupport without interference from electrical leads extending from themicrophones along the arms to amplifiers in the housing and electricalleads extending from the amplifiers downwardly through the bottom of thehousing.
 3. The assembly specified in claim 2 and further comprising aplurality of posts, one to an arm, and a plurality of clamps, one to anarm, mounted adjacent the outer ends of the arms, each clamp holding apost and being releasably fixable with respect to the arm so as in oneposition to cause the post when inoperative to extend along the arm andwhen operative to extend transversely of the arm into engagement withthe ground, the post being longitudinally adjustable with respect to theclamp.
 4. An assembly comprising a multilegged support, a plurality ofarms distributed about the support and extending radially outwardly ofthe support, means connecting the inner end of each arm with the supportfor pivoting of the arm about a horizontal axis transverse to the lengthof the arm, a plurality of microphones equal in number to the arms andmounted on the outer ends thereof, one microphone to an arm, and aplurality of clamps, one to an arm, mounted adjacent the outer ends ofthe arms, each clamp holding a post and being releasably fixable withrespect to the arm so as in one position to cause the post wheninoperative to extend along the arm and when operative to extendtransversely of the arm into engagement with the ground, the post beinglongitudinally adjustable with respect to the clamp.
 5. The assemblyspecified in claim 4, each arm comprising spaced side portions betweenwhich the associated clamp is positioned, each clamp having a split, theassembly further comprising a plurality of bolts, one to an arm, eachbolt having a head at the outside of one side portion and extendingthrough said one side portion, the associated clamp at the split, andthe other side portion, and a plurality of nuts, one to a bolt, each nutbeing threaded on the associated bolt at the outside of the other sideportion.
 6. An assembly comprising a multilegged support, a plurality ofarms distributed about the support and extending radially outwardly ofthe support, means connecting the inner end of each arm with the supportfor pivoting of the arm about a horizontal axis transverse to the lengthof the arm, a plurality of microphones equal in number to the arms andmounted on the outer ends thereof, one microphone to an arm, a sightingdevice, and a removable carrier therefor having a plurality of feet,each foot engaging the sides of two adjacent arms adjacent their innerends and fitting the space between said two adjacent arms for enablingthe sighting device to orient the microphones.
 7. The assembly specifiedin claim 6, the arms being four in number, two arms being aligned andextending in opposite directions from their inner ends, the remainingtwo arms being aligned, extending in opposite directions from theirinner ends and being spaced 90* from the first-mentioned two arms, thefeet on the carrier being four in number, the sighting device beingaligned with two oppositely extending arms.